Change is a common feature of human existence yet causes so many problems for people. Perhaps more accurately, it is the fear of change, the uncertainty around change, that causes the problems. Human beings like certainty and like to stay with what they know, their ‘comfort blanket.’
My biggest fear is stagnation, staying the same and slowly rotting away, my world and my outlook becoming smaller and smaller.
Some 80-85% of the population is neurotypical – which means 15-20% of the population are neurodivergent. The latter have a wildly different experience of the world as they ‘have’ to fit into a world structured and run by neurotypical people.
Gabor Mate wrote “Nothing changes, if nothing changes.” A wonderful and perceptive person, Mate writes knowledgeably about addiction and, by implication, recovery. Where this is hope, there is recovery. Where no hope exists, despair is present. There has to be hope that recovery is possible and it is.
Fellowships such as AA, CA, NA, GA are undoubtedly built on sound principles and help a lot of people. They address the self-imposed self-isolation of sufferers by offering the support of and connection with a community or group of fellow sufferers, bound together by a shared experience. This network of support and accountability is a lifebelt for a lot of individuals and is to be respected.
Addiction is an illness, an illness of the brain. I have yet to meet anyone who deliberately chose to become addicted to a substance, legal or illicit, or addictive process. Addiction can be a symptom of underlying issues such as undiagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, depression, anxiety, low self-worth and self-esteem. Oftentimes, trauma may lie behind addictive behaviours, whether that be a traumatic accident, an invasive operation, or sexual, psychological and emotional abuse. Addiction is a very complex issue.
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